Sonja Eismann

Sonja Eismann (*1973) is a journalist and cultural studies scholar, co-founder of nylon magazine and Missy Magazine, where she still writes and remains part of the editorial team. Last year, Sonja Eismann published the book “Candy Girls: Sexism in the Music Industry”, from which she will read excerpts at this year’s festival.

Christian Rösinger, who has also previously been a guest in Neustrelitz, sums it up quite aptly: “Feminism is not fun; it is complex and it pisses people off – and it takes work! And Sonja Eismann has done that work, proving with verve, anger, and countless examples how patriarchal the music industry still is.”

In an equally furious and instructive blend of analysis and reckoning, Sonja Eismann writes about how deeply sexism and ageism are embedded in the music industry, how we as consumers have learned and internalized the male gaze, how abuse and pedosexuality are accepted in almost all scenes and genres. She writes about old men who make underage female singers perform sexualized songs, about the apparent impossibility of aging “properly,” sexist music journalism, superstars like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, or Peaches, about femicides in song lyrics – and, of course, about examples of self-confident appropriation, resistance, and angry middle fingers raised against the music patriarchy.